I don’t have Alopecia, anxiety or depression. I haven’t had suicidal thoughts roam the sacred space of my mind, nor have I been bullied for my appearance. I am not familiar with the feeling of a panic attack or crippling social anxiety and, I have never felt so deeply overcome with mental pain that I couldn’t breathe. But - I was there for Leon through all of the above and this absolutely devastated me.

When you love someone, everything becomes a simultaneous…

We hope our story raises awareness about the devastating psychological and physical effects of alopecia, brings some comfort to others dealing with mental health issues and is a reminder to never question, assume, judge or comment on someone’s appearance.

“Sorry, I didn’t recognise you mate” – the unintentional and heartbreaking words that Leon has heard daily for quite some time now. Also a strong motivator that it was time to go public with this.

So, what did happen to Leon?…

People with depression often feel like they can’t express themselves without judgement. There is a stigma that mental illness isn’t as worthy as a physical illness. People are less forgiving and sympathetic when it comes to mental pain. To me they are two of the same, except physical illness isn’t loaded with shame. It’s easier to comfort someone when they say “my stomach hurts” rather than “my heart is broken” and the reality is most of us would prefer to call in sick with a “migraine”…